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    1 Corinthians · 21 verses

    1 Corinthians 4

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    The chapter

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    Paul claims a father where there might be ten thousand guardians, then leaves the Corinthians to choose whether that father should arrive with a rod or with love and a gentle spirit.

    The steward is not his own judgevv. 1–7

    Paul begins with a modest title: servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. A steward must be faithful, but Paul declines both the human court and his own conscience as final judges; the Lord will bring hidden things into the light at the appointed time. He has used himself and Apollos as examples so that no one takes pride in one man over another, a contest he punctures with the question of what anyone possesses that was not received.

    The grand procession and its unfortunate endvv. 8–13

    The Corinthians are already rich, already kings, and apparently managing splendidly without the apostles. Paul, with a sharp flourish, wishes the kingdom were real enough for the apostles to reign alongside them. Instead, the apostles appear at the end of God's procession, fools beside the Corinthians' wisdom, weak beside their strength, honoured beside their disgrace. They are hungry, thirsty, badly clothed, beaten, homeless, and working with their own hands; yet insult receives blessing, persecution receives endurance, and slander receives a gentle answer. The chapter's parade has not improved its costumes by the final verse.

    A father's warning, with two possible arrivalsvv. 14–21

    Paul says the catalogue is not meant to shame but to warn beloved children. Ten thousand guardians may exist in Christ, he says, but not many fathers; he claims fatherhood through the gospel and urges imitation. Timothy is sent as a beloved and faithful child to remind them of Paul's way of life and teaching. Some have grown arrogant as though Paul were not coming, but he says he will come shortly if the Lord is willing, and will test not their talk but their power. The final choice is wonderfully concrete: a rod, or love with a gentle spirit.

    The text

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    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. 1 Cor 4:1So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

    2. 1 Cor 4:2Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

    3. 1 Cor 4:3I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

    4. 1 Cor 4:4My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.

    5. 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

    6. 1 Cor 4:6Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another.

    7. 1 Cor 4:7For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

    8. 1 Cor 4:8Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!

    9. 1 Cor 4:9For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.

    10. 1 Cor 4:10We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.

    11. 1 Cor 4:11To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

    12. 1 Cor 4:12We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

    13. 1 Cor 4:13when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

    14. 1 Cor 4:14I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.

    15. 1 Cor 4:15Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

    16. 1 Cor 4:16Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

    17. 1 Cor 4:17That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.

    18. 1 Cor 4:18Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.

    19. 1 Cor 4:19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have.

    20. 1 Cor 4:20For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

    21. 1 Cor 4:21Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 377 passages were voted onto 21 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 201 Corinthians 2:4My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
    • 201 Thessalonians 1:5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
    • 2Matthew 25:21His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
    • 202 Corinthians 10:4–5The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
    • 7John 3:27John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
    • 20Romans 14:17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
    • 5James 5:7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
    • 52 Corinthians 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
    • 71 Peter 4:10As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
    • 7James 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
    • 20Romans 1:16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
    • 2Luke 12:42And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
    • 20Romans 15:19by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
    • 201 Corinthians 1:24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
    • 51 Corinthians 3:13his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
    • 71 Chronicles 29:11–16Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.

    Onward

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